Rap acts on television this week include Common, who performs on ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ on Tuesday; Nick Cannon, who visits ‘Total Request Live’ on Tuesday; Lil’ Kim, who visits ‘Daily Download’ on Tuesday; Tony Yayo and Twista, who visit ‘Daily Download’ on Wednesday; and U.S. hip hop champions Mix 5, who visit ‘The View’ on Friday. On Friday, ‘S.O.S. (Saving Our Selves): The BET Relief Telethon’ airs at 7:30 p.m. ET/PT. On Friday, ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, The WB and UPN will join forces for ‘Shelter from the Storm: A Concert for the Gulf Coast’, airing 8PM ET/PT for a one-hour commercial-free simulcast special to raise funds for those impacted by the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina. On Saturday, MTV, VH1 and CMT are broadcasting ‘ReAct Now: Music & Relief’, a special concert benefit to raise funds for the American Red Cross and other relief efforts airing 8pm-11pm ET/PT.

I wanted to let you/your readers know about Guitar Center’s 2005 Spin Off Grand Finals, which will be held Saturday, September 10 at the Wiltern LG Theatre in Los Angeles. In addition to eight DJs battling it out for the National Spin Off crown, the event is going to feature some hip-hop’s hottest artists, with 20 percent of ticket proceeds going to a music-related charity. Here are the details:

Spin Off is the nation’s largest DJ competition that annually features over 3,000 DJs from across the country battling it out for major prizing and the chance to launch their music careers. After four months of competition, eight DJs have made it to the Spin Off grand finals in L.A. Former winners have used Spin Off as a platform to jumpstart their music careers, with many recording albums and booking DJ appearances across the world.

In addition to the eight finalists, the event will feature a first-ever collaborative headlining performance from hip-hop stars Common and Talib Kweli, as well as a performance by Madlib and DJ sets from DIPLO.(more…)

Rap acts on television this week include Jermaine Dupri, who performs on ‘The Late Show with David Letterman’ on Monday and ‘Live with Regis and Kelly’ on Tuesday; Fergie of the Black Eyed Peas, who phones into ‘Total Request Live’ to premiere their latest video on Monday; Ludacris, who visits ‘The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson’ on Tuesday; Common, who performs on ‘Late Night with Conan O’Brien’ on Friday; and Ying Yang Twins, who perform on ‘Last Call with Carson Daly’ on Friday.

Rap acts on television this week include Ying Yang Twins, who perform on ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ on Monday; Kanye West, who visits ‘Total Request Live’ on Monday; Common, who visits ‘TRL’ on Monday; Pretty Ricky, who visit ‘Total Request Live’ on Tuesday; Fat Joe, who visits ‘Last Call with Carson Daly’ on Wednesday; Nick Cannon, who visits ‘TRL’ on Thursday; Mike Jones, who performs on ‘The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson’ on Friday; and the Black Eyed Peas, who perform on ‘The Tonight Show with Jay Leno’ on Friday.

Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune’s Metromix was on hand for Common’s concert Wednesday (June 1) at the House of Blues. Kot writes, “In the past, Common has shared his stage with old flame Erykah Badu and West. This time, he was firing solo, and he stalked the lip of the stage, his right arm flicking outstretched hands without missing a syllable. The audience already sounded well-versed in ‘Be’, and Common used the fans’ voices to shout out the choruses to new tracks such as ‘Go’, ‘Testify’ and ‘Faithful’. Common brought an urgency that was well beyond the well-crafted recordings, as if testing the songs’ limits.”

With ‘Be’ already being critically acclaimed and dubbed as a “classic,” it seems as though Common’s overdue mainstream acceptance and more so recognition is about to be fully intact. BallerStatus caught up with Common on the corner, and found out why he went with only 11 tracks for his new album, where he draws his inspiration from, and why he chose to ride with the Louis Vuitton Don. Read the interview here.